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^ He keeps mentioning his dislike for "feeling like a sardine", which I guess would disqualify San Francisco.....it's a somewhat odd preference for a downtown, considering thats what makes a downtown feel lively and active.
Exactly. Lots of things being crowded together within walking distance is what makes a downtown what it is, just like lots of things being spread far apart is what makes the rural countryside what it is. Crowdedness, tons of people, etc. are a part of a downtown’s very nature.
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No one considers Lombard street or the Palace of Fine Arts as being in downtown SF. Hyde street partially is, where it cuts through Nob Hill and the Tenderloin. "Downtown" San Francisco can be defined as:
-the Financial District
-parts of SOMA
-parts of North Beach
-Chinatown
-Union Square
-The Tenderloin
-Civic Center
-Nob Hill
-probably Hayes Valley and Mission Bay too
Not a criticism, but I'm curious as to how Portland ME made the list?
The reason I ask is because I spent the last 4 years living in Portland. It's a very nice little area, but to me the downtown area reminded me more of a mid-sized town rather than the center of an urban area. It's relatively walkable (mostly because of the small size), but I left it off my list because I don't think it has the elements that compete with the larger cities even though it is a nice little area. Just asking!
that's how I felt about charlotte too. like I said, outside the top ten it's much less accurate. I liked Portland's downtown more than I liked Charlotte's. read that as you may.
It seems you would better enjoy a suburban office park than a downtown.
Wrong. I actually THOROUGHLY enjoyed Denver's downtown and prefer it over any other US city's or any suburban office park. Hence the #1 ranking. DC's and San Antonio's I really enjoyed as well and prefer to any suburban office park. Hence the #2 and #3 ranking. Furthermore, suburban office parks typically don't have riverwalks or pedestrian bridges or pedestrian malls, all things I clearly indicated are on my CRITICAL list for enhanced enjoyment. I think if you actually go back through my critieria, the evidence will show the contrary of what you claim here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by st. louie louie
Downtowns need to have stores, offices, culture, things to do. And to make it walkable to those places, they need to be fairly close to each other. And when they have those things, people will come and hopefully it will get a little crowded.
Denver's downtown has stores, offices, culture, things to do. It has the 2nd largest performing arts complex in the nation. It has Coors Field, the 16th street mall, and several other very nice amenities. And since it has those things, people DO come and it can get a LITTLE crowded. But nowhere NEAR sardinesville. Plenty of elbow room. People were biking (walking too) and not almost running into folks in front of them or feeling like they were going to get hit by a car. And to me that just makes it even MORE enjoyable. I like downtowns. I just like those like Denver's or San Antonio's or DC's a lot more than I like NYC's or Boston's or Philadelphia's.
No one considers Lombard street or the Palace of Fine Arts as being in downtown SF. Hyde street partially is, where it cuts through Nob Hill and the Tenderloin. "Downtown" San Francisco can be defined as:
-the Financial District
-parts of SOMA
-parts of North Beach
-Chinatown
-Union Square
-The Tenderloin
-Civic Center
-Nob Hill
-probably Hayes Valley and Mission Bay too
And what exactly is wrong with SF's downtown that keeps it off your list? Just curious.
If you look back at my list, SF IS on it. What keeps it from being higher is primarily that it's waterfront is basically concrete and piers, not really much for greenery like the Marina area or Golden Gate area. And it's hills and scenic views from those hills are not in downtown. If we were talking cities OVERALL and not just downtown, SF would be my #1 favorite city overall in the US. But the criteria isn't overall city, it's downtown. And the awesome monument and lagoon at the Palace of Fine Art is like nowhere else in the US. If the SF hills like on Hyde and the monument and lagoon at the Palace of Fine Art were IN downtown, I'd have SF ranked #1 or close to it (I'd have to re-evaluate the lack of a green waterfront). But SF DID make my list. Certainly if Boston is at the bottom of my list but made it, SF HAS to be somewhere on it.
^ He keeps mentioning his dislike for "feeling like a sardine", which I guess would disqualify San Francisco.....
Every time I've been to SF, I've never felt like a sardine, and I've been there in the middle of the day. Granted I never tried the Bay Bridge at rush hour, but whether walking or trolleying or driving in the middle of the day in downtown SF, I had elbow room, and plenty of it. The same can't really be said of Sardinesville on the Hudson.
SF
NOLA
Miami
Seattle
Boston
NYC
Philly
Chicago
Baltimore
DC
Atlanta
San Antonio
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